Quebec, 1703. In this rough town, Indian slaves are routinely mistreated. As C?cile Chesne watches the branding iron burn into young Lesharo's flesh, she knows she must act. Defying convention, the headstrong girl buys the slave's freedom and treats him as an equal. Lesharo is Pawnee -- the People of the Wolf. Sworn to protect C?cile, he accompanies her and her father, a coureur de bois, as they leave Quebec for a perilous journey to the new fort at D?troit. Fort society, however, makes C?cile and Lesharo miserable. Torn between two worlds, they can only be free in the wild. But freedom will not come easily. One terrible night, C?cile is forced to make a dreadful choice ?